PARKWAY DRIVE / KILLSWITCH ENGAGE / THY ART IS MURDER | LIVE REVIEW
Motorpoint Arena Cardiff, Fri 1 Feb
On a behemoth tour package featuring three of the hottest names in metal, expectations were high. Would this trio of bands, more used to playing within spitting distance of the crowd in academy venues or low-ceilinged dungeons, be able to harness that same essence on the big stage?
Thy Art Is Murder quickly dispelled any doubts. Opening with the title track from recent effort Dear Desolation, they conquered the arena with an unrelenting barrage of guttural vocals, blastbeats and chugging riffs. Led by demonic frontman CJ McMahon, the Sydney bruisers powered through Reign Of Darkness and Purest Strain Of Hate as the crowd split down the middle and ran at each other, fists first. No one went harder than McMahon though, who screamed himself sick – literally. Props to the roadie who mopped up after him.
The bar was set high, but Killswitch Engage [above] vaulted it with ease. After 20 years in business, the metalcore pioneers know how to slay a show. For a bunch of brutal screamers, they’re surprisingly chirpy: kicking off with Strength Of the Mind, vocalist Jesse Leach wisecracked his way through the set while guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz bounced around like a grinning Cheshire cat on caffeine. Thankfully the fun times didn’t come at the expense of the music. Killswitch attacked their hits with incredible precision from beginning to end, finally closing with the anthemic In Due Time. Five thousand people screamed the words right back.
Parkway Drive [top] had a lot to prove. The success of their last two albums has beefed their profile and these are the biggest headline shows they’ve played outside their native Australia. As the excitement in the arena built to a fever pitch, five burning torches lit up within the crowd. In a part-Hot Fuzz death cult/part-Wrestlemania entrance, the five-piece approached the stage to new album opener Wishing Wells. Before they’d even picked up their instruments, chaos ensued.
Bands new to the big leagues need to make sure their stage shows deliver, and from beginning to end Parkway Drive was pure spectacle. Blasts of fire punctuated almost every song, a string quartet hovered five meters in the air and vocalist Winston McCall threw an actual Molotov cocktail over the drumkit. The band has recently toned down the aggression on record, but live they are as crushing as ever. A smattering of old crowd pleasers such as Carrion and Idols And Anchors satisfied long-time fans, but their delivery of newer material from albums Reverence and Ire were no less well received.
Bringing the night to a close with Bottom Feeder before the crowd were cooked alive, the band stood sweat-drenched and thanked their fans for bringing them this far. Their dedication to pushing performative boundaries is what has pushed the band to their current status as contemporary metal heavyweights, though. Even the most ambivalent in the crowd would be hard pressed to deny that Parkway Drive proved themselves worthy of this headline arena slot.
words BETTI HUNTER photos JASPER WILKINS